Battle of the sexes; who’s the better drivers?

The long debate of which gender makes the better drivers may now be officially over – as results of a new study show that women are more proficient behind the wheel!

The study, carried out by Privilege Insurance, had some interesting statistics; including the fact that both men and women believed men to be the better drivers. But, however modest, it was women that came out on top, with them claiming the crown as the most competent.

The month-long study of drivers in London had 50 drivers tested with in-car assessors, and 200 watched. Each were rated on 14 aspects of driving competence, and marked out of 30 points. The female average score was 23.6, while the male average was 19.8.

Here’s how some of the categories fared;

55% of men slowed to an appropriate speed to approach hazards, where 75% of women did
Only 44% of men stopped safely at amber lights, whereas nearly double, 85% of female drivers didStaying within the speed limit was tight, but closely won by the ladies – 89% vs. 86%Men scored better on effective observation, with 82% being rated as effective compared to only 71% for women.
Taking an ‘appropriate speed for the driving situation’ was a tie, with both sexes scoring 64%.
Rather worryingly for both genders, 24% of male drivers were observed talking or texting at the wheel, and 16% of female.
Only 1% of women drivers cut dangerously into other traffic – but 14%of observed men did!

Of course, Liftshare accepts drivers no matter the gender, and have plenty of happy partnerships regardless. You can search for matches by gender if you’d prefer, but we have a community of fantastic drivers both male and female. Search for a lift now to find your perfect carshare pal!

There was, however, no test for parking (parallel or otherwise!) so that debate will continue until the next study…